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Ecuador recaptures most-wanted gang leader ‘Fito’ in army operation

Notorious drug lord, whose 2024 escape triggered widespread violence, was apprehended after a months-long manhunt

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Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar after being recaptured. Photo: Ecuadorean Army via AFP
Ecuador’s president announced Wednesday that the country’s most-wanted fugitive, Los Choneros gang leader “Fito”, had been recaptured over a year after his escape from prison triggered a wave of violence.

“We have done our part to proceed with Fito’s extradition to the United States, we are awaiting their response,” Daniel Noboa wrote on X.

Drug lord Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar, known as Fito, escaped custody in Ecuador in early 2024 and American prosecutors charged him, in absentia, with seven counts of cocaine distribution, conspiracy and firearms-related crimes, including weapons smuggling.

Macias Villamar’s January 2024 escape resulted in a surge of gang-related violence in Ecuador that lasted days and left about 20 people dead.

Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar arriving at an airbase in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Photo: AFP
Jose Adolfo Macias Villamar arriving at an airbase in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Photo: AFP

Noboa declared a 60-day state of emergency in nearly a third of its provinces to quell the violence, but the drug lord was at large until Wednesday’s announcement.

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